My name is Belinda and I'm 25 years old and have just had preventive bilateral skin sparing mastectomy and would love to share my story with you.

I first found out about cancer when I was 4; my mum was diagnosed with breast cancer just like her mother. Mum unfortunately had the BCRA2 gene passed on from her dad, my grandma was not a carrier and she ended up surviving breast cancer and is still alive today. Two years after mum was diagnosed we lost her to the disease at 32 years of age.

Because my family is a carrier of the gene we had a lot of research done and I got tested. I wanted to know if I had it and in my teens I found out I had the BRCA2 gene. At the time I did not really understand the implications and like most young people I was not too worried but knew I need to have annual ultrasounds and keep an eye on myself. My dad and family were heartbroken when I tested positive – they had a better understanding of the increased risks than I did then.

I got checked once a year with an ultrasound to make sure that I had no abnormal lumps and monitored my breasts myself – it’s something I would recommend everyone to do if you have a history of cancer in the family or not.

For the next 7 years I had a normal life, enjoying my family and friends ad everything the world has to offer. In 2007 I met my husband – his dad had died of cancer also so he understood my situation and what I had been through.

We talked about my situation and did as much research as we could to make an informed decision as it was going to affect the rest of our lives together. What we discovered after 6 months of investigation was having the BRCA2 gene gave me an 80% of developing breast cancer compared to a non carriers 10% chance. This statistic on top of mum’s death was really what enabled me to consider to something preventative about my situation. What followed was the two of us looking in to the techniques that modern breast and plastic surgery can offer.

Technology and medicine have come a long way since mum had a double mastectomy and my choices were much better. The developments in breast surgery and the reconstructive techniques enabled me to make a decision that whilst emotionally challenging was ultimately simple. Surgery would also take my chance of developing breast cancer from 80% to 4%.

I would go ahead with a preventative bilateral prophylactic skin sparing mastectomy. This procedure involved me having my breast tissue removed and expanders inserted under my chest muscle. This was all done with a small incision in my breast. After weekly expansions and plenty of stretching I would finally after 3 months get the expanders removed and have silicone implants inserted.

For me I felt I was making the best choice for my future. I want to have kids next year and I want to be the best mum and not have to worry about this nasty fear on my mind of having an 80% chance of developing breast cancer. I knew what is was like growing up without mum and how hard it was for me - I did not want the same thing for my kids.

I went in to the operation with great support from my family, friends and husband, they all understood why I was doing it and were there for me. With the operation I had the best team, Dr Megan Hassall, Dr Mark Sywak and Dr Barbara Gaden they did a fantastic job and the operation was successful.

It was very weird waking up after the operation I felt very tight in the chest and hurt a lot to breathe. For me the pain was like having a huge rock on my chest whilst feeling winded! I was not able to do anything for the first 5 days; it was recovery in a hospital bed.

Over the next two months I would begin to have my weekly injections to get my breast shape back and stretch the skin and muscle. These injections are ok initially but in the subsequent hours the pain comes on and for the next 2-3 days I am in a fair bit of pain. I can still do most things but lifting anything or driving is out of the question. The next 5 days are better, I find it difficult to sleep on my back but apart from that it’s not too bad.

I have a few more injections to go and then another 6 weeks to wait before my final surgery and silicone implants. We have looked at each week as a little positive milestone of achievement. With each injection in the expander I got a little bit bigger in the chest and closer to getting back to normal – positive thinking here helps a lot.

We live in a fantastic time - the options, knowledge and procedures available to women today are so much more advanced than my mum’s choices. We can have preventative surgery ourselves and we can eradicate the gene in our family through IVF. I'm very happy I went ahead and would urge all others with the gene to look in to their options.